Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Will Australia pick both Mitch Marsh & Cam Green? | Australia could pick Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green for 4th Ashes Test

The make up of Australia’s team for the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford will be a talking point between now and the start of the match. Mitchell Marsh’s excellent Test at Headingley, where he scored a century and took two wickets, along with Cameron Green’s return to fitness, gives the Australian thinktank key decisions to make.

There is the possibility the visitors will play both all-rounders in the quest to retain the Ashes. Skipper Pat Cummins, speaking to Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) after the third Test, said there is a scenario where both make the playing XI.

“It could be, for sure,” Cummins said. “We’ll take a deep breath and come back in a few days and assess where everyone is at. But, the way Mitchy’s played, it’s hard to leave him out, it’s hard to leave Greeny out.

“You look at the other batters and they’ve all performed; it’s hard to leave anyone else out. We’ll work it out. I guess it’s a good problem for the selectors to have.”

If Marsh and Green play, who misses out? And who bats where?

Seasoned Australian opener David Warner has come under the spotlight. Warner was out cheaply twice at Leeds to nemesis Stuart Broad, raising further questions around his place in the team.

Interestingly, Warner posted an Instagram story of his Australian passport as he heads back home. The reason is unclear at this stage.

Warner has notched only 141 runs in six innings, averaging 23.50 with only one half-century to his name. Almost every other specialist batsman has outscored Warner in the series and as mentioned, skipper Pat Cummins entertained the idea of playing the duo of Marsh and Green together in the XI.

Warner fell to Broad in both the innings of the third Test, making it 17 times that he has been dismissed by the English pacer. The veteran opener has already disclosed that he plans to bring curtains down to his Test career in the forthcoming Australians summer but his exclusion from the red-ball squad could be fast-tracked by the looks of it.

However, how Australia rejigs their batting lineup to accommodate both Marsh and Green will be interesting to see. One option is to move Travis Head up to opener. However, that is a risk given how strong he has been at number five. Another option is to elevate Marnus Labuschagne to opener, but who then bats at three?

In such a big game, Australia may guard against drastic changes to the make up of their batting order. So, there is every chance that Todd Murphy, who bowled just two overs in the second innings at Headingley, may drop out for Green to strengthen the batting and provide a bowling option.

If Australia leave Murphy out and keep Warner, here is how the XI would look assuming Hazlewood comes back: 1. David Warner, 2. Usman Khawaja, 3. Marnus Labuschagne, 4. Steve Smith, 5. Travis Head, 6. Mitchell Marsh, 7. Cameron Green, 8. Alex Carey (wk), 9. Pat Cummins (c), 10. Mitchell Starc, 11. Josh Hazlewood